The days of juvenile court are officially over for Ethan Couch, the “affluenza” teen. Today marked Couch’s first adult court appearance since he fled to Mexico, with the help of his mother, to avoid an arrest warrant issued for a parole violation.
Couch first entered the public eye in 2013, after he killed four people while driving drunk. At the time, he was 16. His sentence created outrage when the juvenile court judge gave Couch 10-years of probation instead of jail time. Couch’s lawyers mounted the now notorious “affluenza defense,” which claimed he was too rich and spoiled to understand the consequences of his actions.
In late 2015, a video of Couch went viral. It showed the teen drinking at a party in violation of the terms of his parole, which stated that he was not to consume drugs or alcohol for the duration of the 10-year-term.
After attempting to avoid justice by hiding, Mexican officials extradited Couch back to Texas where he’s remained in prison until today, and it appears he will remain there longer than that. The Dallas News reports that State District Judge Wayne Salvant told Couch:
“I want you to understand that you’re not getting out of jail today.”
Judge Salvant sentenced Couch to 720 days in jail, which is a little under two years.
This seems like a very short amount of time, and under normal circumstances, it would be. But Texas law mandates that a probationer moving from juvenile to adult court can only receive 180 days in prison for a second degree felony.
So the judge gave him four consecutive 180 day sentences, one for each count of intoxication manslaughter that Couch had originally pled guilty to. Salvant gave Couch and his attorneys two weeks to make him reconsider the situation, when the case reconvenes. That is when Judge Salvant will issue his final judgment.
Until then, Ethan Couch sits in big boy jail.
